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Dan Hope and Andy Anders of Eleven Warriors bring you inside the Ohio State beat every Wednesday with a podcast covering everything you need to know about the Buckeyes.
Note: This transcript was AI-generated and has no been edited for errors.
[Dan Hope]
Welcome into RealPod Wednesdays. Dan Hope joined by Andy Anders broadcasting from a different location than usual today, uh, had a little bit of a maintenance going on at my apartment. I couldn't record from a home base today.
So, uh, here at the library. So if you're watching on YouTube, uh, you may notice it looking a little bit different, uh, talking a little bit quieter than I might usually talk because I don't want to disturb, uh, the other people here who are trying to study or work or whatnot, but the show must go on as it does for Ohio state football as Ohio state now entering the second month of its season, starting its big 10 season this past week at Michigan state, getting a 38 to seven win over the Spartans and now the ramp up continues as the Buckeyes prepare to host Iowa and their first game of October.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah, we've talked about it before, how this schedule is slowly building. And I do think this is the best team Ohio state will play has played so far. And then they get an even stiffer challenge next week in Oregon.
So that first half of the season up through the second by week, which follows the Oregon game really is just the optimal kind of setting in and test of this team getting stiffer and stiffer challenges each week until you hit that second by, and then obviously the back half of October and then November, it just keeps getting more and more intense, but. That what could happen, what could happen in the ramp in terms of playing Michigan, playing the big 10 title game, potentially college football playoff, potentially, I think that's mimicked well by how this early schedule has ramped up, although of course I don't think anyone they're going to be playing anyone like a Western Michigan and in the college football playoff, but just a good way to kind of the games pick up and pick up and pick up.
[Dan Hope]
And it did seem like Ryan day was more upbeat during his press conference this week, as compared to last week, last week, you know, there's a famous quote of him being asked how he felt if he felt good about the run game and he said, no, nobody feels nobody should feel good about anything. And, and this week he seemed to be more upbeat. And so even though I don't think it was a perfect game at Michigan state for Ohio state to ultimately come out of there for decisive 38 to seven victory in the first conference game of a season on the road, maybe gives Ryan day and that coaching staff reason to feel a little more sure in what they have on both sides of the ball.
[Andy Anders]
Absolutely. And this is a game that, you know, I think gave the team confidence and proof that some of the gains you made in those first three weeks against those non-conference opponents, those group of five opponents were real, particularly with the offensive line, which I thought had a, a really good game that hasn't been talked about as much in the aftermath of it. I thought the offensive line played really well again at Michigan state.
Uh, they're going to face a much better defensive front this week. Uh, probably one of the best defensive fronts they'll play all season. So that'll be a real test for that.
But the offensive line has taken strides and when you. It's more proof in the pudding, right? It's more believable when you see it on the road against a big 10 foe.
It just is. And I think that's why Ryan was a little more willing to be relaxed and embrace some of the positive trends of his team this week and not just be in full. Got to get better mode.
[Dan Hope]
So we're one month into the season. So before we really get into the nitty gritty of that Iowa batch up, which you will later in the show, I wanted to kind of, uh, take a little bit more of a big picture look and kind of evaluate where this team is at one month into the season. And you mentioned some of the things that, you know, have, you know, impressed us in the first month that, uh, have looked good where Ohio state seems to be making real progress in the first month.
If you had to pinpoint one thing, what would you say is the one thing that's impressed you most about this Ohio state team for one month?
[Andy Anders]
Overall, it's the run game and it hasn't been perfect all the time. First half against Akron and not the entire first half, but maybe the first quarter against Michigan state. It hasn't been like completely smooth sailing, but they, every game they found their footing at some point.
And I think the way that the offensive line is knocking bodies off the ball better this year, the experience they have, uh, combined with the scheme that chip Kelly has brought all the different run concepts they're throwing at teams, the horizontal stretch they get on defenses, whether it's with the screen game, which, you know, is in a lot of ways, an extension of the run game, the screen game, or the, maybe the wide receiver, quick game bubbles and things, or, um, getting horizontal with receivers, getting outside runs, mixed him with inside runs. And we've seen Ohio state because of that horizontal stretch, because defenders aren't sure about their eyes and where to look with this backfield and, uh, the way things are moving up front, you even see false pole sometimes with this offensive line, which is something I love, um, in this chip Kelly scheme.
But defenders just don't have the same reaction to Ohio state that they have in the past. Maybe when their run schemes were a little more predictable, they a little more vanilla, maybe didn't mix in as many different types of runs and looks. And threat of a mobile quarterback also adds onto that with will Howard, not that he's had to use his legs much.
These first four games did score a touchdown on the ground against Michigan state, um, and has scored multiple rushing touchdowns on the year, but really, you know, hasn't had to scramble much. Hasn't had to be that zone read, keep threat as much in these first four games, but just having him out there knowing he has the ability to, to pull and keep on some of these plays is another confusion for the linebackers, for the defensive ends of opposing defenses. And so I think.
Obviously you have the two, two of the best running backs in college football, certainly the best tandem one, two in college football with Travion Henderson, Quinn, Sean Judkins, superstars. They're great, but the overall run blocking offensive line, and I'm going to include the tight ends and receivers in that category too, because both of those position groups have also improved blocking this year. You combine all that together with a beautiful scheme from Chip Kelly.
And this run game is night and day from last year.
[Dan Hope]
I don't think there's any question that this run game at least appears to be improved in a significant way going back to last season. You look at the stats so far this year, Ohio state currently ranks third in the country and rushing yards per attempt. And so it's been a big strength for the Buckeyes so far this year.
Now, without a doubt, the biggest test coming up for the Buckeyes in that area this week is they're going to go against an Iowa run defense that currently ranks fourth nationally and rushing yards allowed per game. So we talk about litmus tests and seeing how well Ohio state has improved in certain areas. I think of all areas, the one that you're really going to look at this week as this being a huge litmus test for is that run game.
Will that improvement continue to show up against one of the best run defenses in the country? That was kind of a tenor we referenced from Ryan day last week. And we saw in that Michigan state game, I think slow start for a running game, but it was kind of like once they cracked the rock, they were able to break off a lot more big runs.
So we'll see, are they able to do the same thing against this Iowa defense? I think certainly you, you go into this Iowa game feeling like you are going to be, have to be able to make plays through the air. And I think, um, you know, this, this week's game, you know, will be a test for will Howard as well, because I think as good as Iowa's run defense has been, you're going to have to be able to, uh, move the ball, uh, vertically against this defense, uh, you're, you're going to have to, you know, make some of those plays in order to, uh, space Iowa's defense out, but you know, the good news is, uh, for Ohio state is they have Jeremiah Smith. And I think if I just say, what is the one thing that's impressed me most about this Ohio state team one month into the year, I think I have to say Jeremiah Smith, it's such an obvious answer, but he has looked like such a superstar.
I don't know that I've seen another freshman at Ohio state who's looked quite this good in his first month. I mean, he's certainly not the only one. I think back to my freshman year, when I was at Ohio state, how good Ryan Shazier looked as a freshman, I think back to JK Dobbins, the huge debut he had at Indiana, he really came gangbusters onto the scene.
I mean, we saw just a few years ago, we saw, you know, Denzel Burke come onto the scene as an immediate starter. Travion Henderson, of course, having that record-breaking performance in the first month of the season. Uh, Maurice Clorette, of course, was a guy who had a huge year as a freshman, but the consistency we're seeing from Jeremiah, I think that's a big, I mean, you see the spectacular plays we've seen from Jeremiah certainly this past weekend with two one-handed catches in a span of, I think four plays, but it's the consistency, it's every week we're seeing him be a core player in that offense, along with Emeka Abuka and Travion Henderson and Quenshawn Judkins. And it's the little things too, like it's not just the spectacular plays.
It's also the effort you're seeing from him as a blocker. Like you mentioned, it's just all the things you're seeing from him. I mean, there's been a lot of really impressive players on this team so far for one month.
Certainly that running back tandem of Quenshawn Judkins and Travion Henderson has been impressive. I think Emeka Abuka has really been great this first month of the year and has really reminded everybody that he's one of the best wide receivers in college football. I think along that offensive line, I think some of those guys maybe deserve more credit than they're getting.
I think you go back to that last game against Michigan State, rewatching the film, I think one of the players who jumped off the screen to me the most was Josh Simmons. I think Josh Simmons had an excellent game and I think he's really taken that step that we expected him to take this year as a left tackle and really becoming a solid stalwart on that left side of the line. Certainly Seth McLaughlin's a guy we've talked about.
He's made a huge difference on that offensive line that continued against Michigan State. I think, you know, Caleb Downs is a guy who's now really starting to emerge as a star on that defense coming downhill from that safety spot. Maybe you want to see a little more consistency than what we've seen the last couple of weeks from guys like Jack Sawyer and JT to him all the while.
We certainly saw Jack Sawyer come out of the gates like gangbusters in those first couple of games, hasn't been quite as impactful the last couple of weeks. Those still not bad, but you know, there's certainly been impressive flashes from those guys. I think the defensive line has missed Tyleek Williams these last couple of weeks and certainly are hoping to get him back this week against a really good Iowa rushing offense.
But again, if, if I would just had to pinpoint one player, like who's impressed me the most of any one player, it would be hard to go in any direction other than Jeremiah Smith.
[Andy Anders]
The totality of Ohio State's wide receiver core. We've talked about it in the past. You don't have Marvin Harrison Jr. this year, but you do have a receiving core that is more complete and deeper. You made that assessment coming into the year, kind of off of week one, week two. I think the first month of the season has really proved that out as we've seen Emeka Ibuka rise up and be that, you know, thousand yard plus guy. We knew he could be one of the best receivers in the country.
Jeremiah Smith start to look like the best player on the team, regardless of position with just whenever the ball is thrown his way, you expect something spectacular to happen almost, but also like you said, the blocking has been really impressive from all the receivers. I really think Carnell Tate, because of how good Emeka and Jeremiah have been, people are sleeping on what Carnell, how good Carnell Tate has been too. He's been dependable, had a really quiet, nice 50 yard receiving game against Michigan state.
He's in that mix, clearly identified as the number three target in this offense, and he's blocking really well. He brings a lot of effort out there, especially in the screen game, willing to throw your face in the fan. And as a receiver, that's really, I wouldn't even say half, I'd say three quarters of the battle when it comes to blocking because corners don't want to deal with getting blocked.
They're out there to cover the pass. And most corners, if you get up in their face and you're willing and you give that effort to block them, then they will be. And the effort has been exceptional from this receiver group.
That to me is another really impressive thing about what we've seen out of this team in its first month. Defensively, I didn't touch on as much. I think for me, the most impressive part, you mentioned Caleb Downs, the safety tandem in general, I think has been the strongest part of the defense.
Latham Ransom has been awesome all over the field, making plays, creating turnovers, forcing fumbles, Jordan Hancock. If you want to throw him in that safety group too, I think he's had an excellent first month. There were a couple of plays.
Maybe he was a step behind just like a little bit off in a few games, but for the most part, he's, he's more than made up for it, I should say, with how much of an impact he can be forcing turnovers to had a big forced fumble against Michigan state. Um, and for the most part, he's been a really tough to shake and coverage. And I think his run defense has improved from last year.
You might feel more comfortable in four to five against slightly heavier fronts than we've seen in the past because Jordan Hancock really took that step as a run defender last year and has continued to build on it this year. So the safety tandem, especially though those deep safeties with downs and ransom, and I'd actually pick ransom as my defensive MVP from the first month, uh, that might surprise some people, but again, he's just everywhere making tackles consistently. Uh, he's a big time leader on that defense.
And I think I undervalued how important a piece he was coming into this year and how good he could be because we didn't see it in the back half of last year when he was out for the season, first half of the season looked really good, but for me, that's my defensive MVP. Offensively, I'd probably overall go with Quinn. Sean Judkins didn't have as big a game against Michigan state, but again, the run game strides that have been made.
Quinn Sean, his combination of physicality, running through tackles, always falling forward, always keeping the lakes churning, but then still has the ability to hit the home run. Travion has been awesome too, but I think that's the guy I would put as my offensive MVP from the first month of the season or the best player overall. Dan, where do you sit on that?
It sounds like maybe you're leading Jeremiah Smith on the offensive side.
[Dan Hope]
I am leading Jeremiah Smith, but again, there's, there's so many different directions you could go there in terms of MVP because Quinn, Sean, Travion, Jeremiah, uh, Mecca, I mean, all four of them have been fantastic. I mean, to your point, Carnell Tate is the best number three receiver in the country. I don't think there's any other team in the country that he'd be the number three receiver on maybe one or two, but not many, if you really talk an MVP, like, you know, you could, you could think about, you know, a Josh Simmons or a Seth McLaughlin in that conversation.
Cause I think they've been that rock solid. And I think they've really taken that offensive line a step forward, but I would have to go with Jeremiah. Defense is tougher.
I think there's a few different guys, but you could go with, I do think Lathan Ransom's a really good choice. Cause I think Lathan has, he's probably been the player who's shown up the most consistently as a playmaker this year. And the stats would reflect that.
He leads the team with 14 solo tackles, also leads the team with two forced fumbles. I think it's been an excellent start to the year for him. And I think a lot of it really is that tandem too, because I think when you have Caleb Downs patrolling the back end of the secondary, it gives you more freedom to really unleash Lathan as a playmaker in ways that maybe they didn't quite as much the last couple of years.
I think they feel like they can really be aggressive in how they utilize Lathan and allow him to play to his biggest strengths, which really is being that, you know, downhill big hitter kind of guy, I think you feel more comfortable doing that when you have a guy you trust as much as you trust Caleb at the back end of that secondary. We did see Caleb, you know, make that step though, that I think I wanted to see him take against Michigan State to where he really became more of a playmaker, a game changer, consistent basis in that Michigan State game. So I would agree with you that the safeties have been the best unit on this team.
I could probably still put Jack Sawyer in that conversation for, for MVP, just because I think that he's definitely been the most consistent guy in terms of generating pressures up front. Pro football focus numbers would back that up. He has 13 total quarterback pressures this year.
The next highest in that group is actually eight by Caden Curry, who I think has been, you know, really good off the bench this year. Interesting Mitchell Melton up there in the top four as well with five pressures. I think he's a guy who's flashed when he's gotten opportunities to play.
I think, you know, that defensive end group in general, I think has been really good. The defensive tackle depth is still a question mark in terms of what they've been able to do when Tyleek Williams has been out. I do think Ty Hamilton has played well.
I think at corner, I think Denzel Burke has continued to play really well. I, somebody I've talked about before is the best player on the team. I wouldn't put him at that level based on how he's played in the first month of the year, but I think he's still played really well.
I do want to see a little bit more from Davison Igbenosin. I feel like Davison has not quite made that jump that maybe I expected yet in terms of becoming that second dominant cover corner. I think he's a good player, but I think you saw particularly this past week, they were playing him in a lot of off coverage and it felt like Michigan state was kind of picking on him at times.
And so I think there's still a jump that I want to see from Davison Igbenosin in terms of, you know, that consistent coverage guy, particularly as a guy who's out there pretty much every snap, because they do have who we've considered to be the best backup corner in the country and Jermaine Matthews. And I'm not saying Jermaine should take Davison's job by any means, but I do think that if Davison and Denzel are going to play all the snaps ahead of Jermaine, then you do expect them to be dominant players. And I still think there's a jump that Davison needs to take to get to that truly dominant level.
You know, with that being said, uh, we, we talk about the defense, uh, we're certainly nitpicking or one could say nit whacking, at least that's how Jim Knowles described the nitpicking he received from his father, uh, his Philadelphia cop father as a child, which I think sent Andy into the hardest laugh I've ever seen from him at a press conference. He almost fell out of his chair when Jim Knowles said that it was, it was a, it was a fun press conference on Tuesday. Like we said, we talked last week about how it almost felt a little melancholy, at least when Ryan day was at the podium in terms of like not wanting to give a team's credit felt like a loose environment today from a coaches.
They were all making jokes, Jim Knowles. Somebody else asked Jim about being number one in scoring defense and he called it rat poison. Chip made a joke, but he wanted Will Howard to be like Jared Goff after Jared Goff, uh, completed every pass, uh, on a Monday night's game for the Detroit lions or of a Seattle Seahawks.
He also made a joke about his favorite part of being an OC rather than a head coach is that he's able to go to the bathroom and the press box. Anyway, getting back to a point when we do talk about nitpicking on this defense, the defense has been great, but I think it speaks to how much different the expectations are for this defense now than they were a couple of years ago, I mean, a couple of years ago, you said, Oh, Ohio state is ranked number one in the country in points allowed per game and number two and yards allowed per game. I mean, everybody would have been thrilled, but I think now that, uh, the expectation is that this is going to be a championship caliber unit, a unit that leads Ohio state to a national championship, almost chasing a standard of perfection now for this defense.
And I think I can suspect if I was to ask you what your biggest concern or biggest disappointment on this team is right now, I would suspect that you would go to the linebackers and that was the biggest question mark position for the defense coming into the year. And I, and I think one month in, it certainly remains the biggest question mark position for the defense.
[Andy Anders]
I, I voiced concerns after the Marshall game about how they were able to attack the second level, really target the linebackers in the passing game, uh, and do some things to isolate Sonny Stiles and Cody Simon again, in the past game, primarily with Cody and attack them and find success there. Michigan state did the same thing. And I think to a greater extent early in the game, specifically those three, you know, those first four drives, they had three that went 55 yards or more.
And then the other will Howard throws a pick. They score from 13 yards out. That's whatever that's not on the defense, but these long drives happen.
Yes, Ben, but don't break the thing. Uh, they did force turnovers. They got a turnover on downs.
Part of playing defense is getting those things, but when you're chasing, again, like you said, that championship standard, you have to hold yourself to a higher level than allowing a team to get all the way down the field and forcing a fumble because you're not going to be able to do that against Oregon's Penn state's Michigan's of the world. They get inside the red zone. They're probably going to score.
So that's why you pick these nets or you, you knit whack. As Jim Knowles said, it was interesting to hear the coaches talk on Tuesday about Sonny Stiles because they didn't share the same concern that I have that I've seen other media members share. And here's the thing I think about this situation with Sonny.
Sonny's a freak athlete. We know this and CJ Hicks also a freak athlete. I think they're both further behind than we realized entering the fall, or at least I realized entering the fall.
Um, in terms of these two are both really talented and it was kind of like last year, I thought about this last year. It's kind of like the quarterback situation with Kyle McCord and Devin Brown. You thought, well, both are great recruits.
Ryan Day, quarterback, whisperer, done great things at the position. And then it just never really took shape. None of it took a long time for McCord to win the job, obviously.
And then it just didn't, it never worked the way it needed to. And that's kind of what it feels like right now at linebacker, not to say it's going to play out that way long-term because again, Sonny's a great athlete. But he's not seeing the forest through the trees as Jim Knowles would put it, I think right now.
When I went back and watched on film, there was a run on Michigan state's first drive that went for about 20 yards where Sonny is the play side linebacker responsible for C gap, or he ends up being responsible for C gap because Jack Sawyer's tackle and tight end blocked down. So he's going to crash inside the B gap. And Sonny's job is to then when, when you see that happen as a linebacker, you need to step into the hole immediately and fill it and Sonny stood there and he got blocked by a tight end.
And then the running back runs right around him, dives, misses a tackle. It goes for 20 yards. And I think that's the issue right now is not a lack of ability.
Not a lack of hard work or dedication. I think Sonny is, has got both those things, but just a lack of knowing where to go and maybe what the responsibility is on certain plays or when you see certain things, right? I've seen comments like, Oh, you should, how do you not know what your responsibility is on a play?
It should be basic coaching. It's, it's, it's not that simple because your responsibility changes based on what happened in a play. And it can happen in a half second.
I mean, you've got to read and react and if you haven't seen it enough, AKA you've played safety your entire college career before this, it becomes much more difficult. And I just think I undervalued how hard that transition was going to be because the way the coaches talked in the off season, and even now they're talking now, they made it seem like it was just going to be, it had just been smooth sailing for Sonny, but you have that play. You have the fourth down conversion where Michigan state gets a big pass to Jack Velling, or maybe it was a third down either way.
It was a third down third down. They had a big third down conversion on a pass to Jack Velling. That was Sonny's matchup one-on-one.
Belling smokes him off the line. Then Jordan Hancock chases the play down and forces a fumble. Fantastic play by Jordan.
Sonny ends up recovering it, which is funny. But those kinds of things are again, where he, he just freezes sometimes and doesn't move until after everyone else has, and that's a problem. So I think it's coachable A, I think it can improve with experience B, but it's got to get there.
I think Cody has been great against the run, has some things to work on in pass coverage, but that's always been the weaker side of his game. And look, as when you play Mike primarily, it's not as important. But all of this to say the linebackers are the top concern I have with this team going forward, and I didn't expect to be saying that a month into the season.
[Dan Hope]
I think my top concern is still, is Will Howard going to be that guy who, when you're in the fourth quarter and you need him to make a big play with his arm, will he be able to consistently do it? And that's not to say that I think that he can't, but he still hasn't been in that position. We've still seen some inconsistency with him as a deep thrower.
And so I think for me, like that's still the biggest question, but I have in terms of will Ohio state, you know, be able to achieve all of its goals that we look for, going forward for the rest of the season, I think in terms of the linebackers, for me, I think there's certainly room for them to grow. I also don't think that this defense is going to suddenly give up 50 points in a game because the linebackers aren't all world. And so I definitely do not think it's something that should be dismissed as a concern because we've seen it plenty of times before where you see these concerns kind of bubbling up under the surface early in the season, and then they come back to bite Ohio state and the big games late in the year.
And I do think that if the linebackers don't improve over the next couple months, that's certainly a possibility. But the good news is I do think the talent is there. Tony Stiles has taken a lot of flack right now, but he is still the leading tackler on the team this year with 23 total tackles.
He certainly had his share of good moments. I do think one question I have, and I think it is going to vary a lot from week to week. I mean, certainly against Oregon.
I don't think we're going to see Ohio state using a lot of a four three defense. I do wonder after watching a Michigan state game, if using it as much as Ohio state did in that Michigan state game was the best move, because I think we'd both agree that Jordan Hancock is a better player than any of Ohio state's linebackers are right now. So to take Jordan Hancock off the field as much as they did, I think some of that's probably in anticipation of this week's game against Iowa, a team that is going to rumble ball a lot is going to use a lot of multi tight end sets.
This is the week of all weeks where it makes sense to play an extra linebacker to stack that box against a team that runs the ball really well and does not pass the ball well at all. I think it was smart to get that out there and work through some of that against Michigan state. But I do wonder a little if maybe Ohio state has used that a little bit too much so far this year, just because they were using a lot of four three stuff with the linebackers and Michigan state was picking on them a lot over the middle of the field.
So it doesn't seem to be quite working as well as Jim Knowles would like it to work right now, whereas I think Jordan Hancock has shown pretty consistently. He's a guy that you can count on to do his job in the run game. Maybe you don't want that 50 B out there at every situation, but I don't think they need to overdo it with the free linebacker looks because of what Jordan Hancock is capable of doing from that nickel spot.
[Andy Anders]
Yeah. But where I stand on that, you know, is our, our, our, our, our Val Reese and CJ Hicks better run defenders than Jordan Hancock. Yes.
I would say marginally is Jordan Hancock, a better pass defender than our Val Reese and CJ Hicks greatly. Um, and for what he does to I, that's even relative to the positions they play, I think. I, I, um, for a nickel, Jordan is great.
And those two have issues as linebackers in coverage. Right. So for me, I think if it's the most obvious of obvious rush situations, it makes sense, but if you are expecting pass as much as you are expecting run, I don't think it's worth it at all to take Jordan off the field.
Um, in I, you wonder where that lean is right now. It seems to mostly be a personnel thing, which is, you know, Jim Knowles talked about that on Tuesday. And that's typically how sort of sub packages like this are done on defense.
You see 12 personnel, you bring on the four, three, but I think if you're seeing 12 personnel on first and 10, I think you can afford to leave Jordan Hancock in the game and he's a sound enough run defender that it's really not going to hurt you that much if the team you're playing decides to keep it on the ground. So I'm with you. I think the four, three still has a place in the defense.
It's still definitely has situations, you know, short yardage or maybe like third and three or less, or just situations where you're definitely expecting a run, it makes a lot of sense to bring that out there, but just automatic C12 personnel bring the four, three in, I think, especially in the big 10, where you're going to see plenty of 12 personnel, it doesn't make as much sense, given what Jordan provides in pass coverage and the balance that offenses can have working against that. And so that's, that's where I think you try and make those decisions and enroll players accordingly, uh, if you're Jim Knowles, I do want to be clear.
[Dan Hope]
Well, I, I did say that, you know, Will Howard is a question that I still have in terms of this team's viability to win a championship, I have been impressed by Will Howard through his first month. I think by and large, he has played very well in his first month as Ohio state's quarterback. I think, you know, that was even true of this past Saturday's game against Michigan state where, you know, he did have the one interception, uh, that was a really bad decision.
He admitted that after the game, it was not a good decision by him, but, you know, he started out the game very efficiently. I think he had a few really good throws, uh, to Emeka Buka. I know Josh Paloa did, uh, his breakdown of Will Howard, but he does every week on 11 Warriors on Tuesday, and he highlighted those throws by Emeka Buka.
And those were some, you know, really well-placed, accurate throws, uh, by, by Will Howard down the field. And so I think he's showing that he has all the tools, uh, that they need at that quarterback position. It's just a matter of, I just still don't know exactly what he's going to be in a game that, whether it's Oregon or Michigan or college ball playoff or whoever, when they, when they really need him to make plays at the game of the line, he just hasn't been in that position yet at Ohio state.
And so it's not a concern or question that's necessarily pointed to how he's played so far. It's more just a matter of, I need to see it first. And I think a little of that's still true with the offensive line as well, because while I do, I do think the offensive line has, uh, played very well so far this year.
Again, uh, the idea of, of bigger tests. I mean, we did hear Ryan day on Tuesday. He's not ready to name a firm starter at right guard yet.
And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Cause I think they have two guys. They like their Integra Shibola, Austin Seerveld, but I also don't know that it's a great thing that he's not ready to just say one of these guys is our clear cut starter he's played well enough that we are very confident in him being that guy, because I, again, I don't know when you're playing Oregon or Penn state or Michigan, if rotating right guards is necessarily the best thing to be doing.
So I think this week you'd kind of like to see some clarity emerge there going into that first really big game next week against Oregon. I think, you know, right tackle as well. I still think Josh Fryer's had some lapses at times to where I still think there's another level you want to see him take his game too, along with that right guard rotation or somebody ultimately emerges there.
I still think that that right side of the offensive line is a little bit of a concern for me. I think the left side has been great. I think Seth McLaughlin's been great.
I think right guard, right tackle are still two positions that when I think about can this team win a national championship, those are still the positions that I need to see take another step before I'll feel really confident.
[Andy Anders]
I agree with that assessment of the offensive line. Josh Fryer, it's been some of the same lapses that he had last year in terms of speed off the edge, guys, maybe getting around him in that sense. So he's a great run blocker and I do think he's taken steps this year.
His offensive line did really impress me in pass protection though, over the weekend. I thought Michigan state really didn't generate much pressure at all. And Will Howard throughout the game, he had, he could pitch a tent back there sometimes.
And Will's got great escapability too, to go with it. And it's also like Chip Kelly mentioned, he sees pass protection as an all 11 offensive players thing where the receivers have got to get open too. You have three receivers, receivers who are great at doing that, but also Travion Henderson has been fantastic picking up blitzes, doing some of those things in pass pro as a running back.
And it's again, the same, the same with the run blocking as it is with the pass blocking of the whole team is getting involved more so than we saw last year by a great extent. That's also been a huge benefit for Ohio state pass protection. But again, to your point, that right side is where you'd like to see things solidify a little more, especially as you're going to get a great test for it against a really good defensive front this week.
Figured I should offer my thoughts on Will Howard too. I suppose for me, the downfield accuracy, yes. Haven't seen it as much consistently, and they really haven't thrown many deep balls this first month of the season.
Just a couple mixed in, mixed in a game to keep the defense off balance, but really, I think as long as the threat of it is there and you're willing to take the deep shots, that might be all they need. It's all they've needed so far. Again, you're getting better tests coming up in terms of defenses.
Iowa's pass defense is actually like not as good as in years past. They're 69th in pass yards allowed per game. Nice.
And, uh, they, they don't have as experienced a backend as they do their defensive front. I think that you're going to be able to maybe throw the ball in this game, but overall going forward, Will has been really accurate 20 yards and under. He's been a great decision maker.
I think that, you know, obviously he had the bad interception against Michigan state that in the throw he made earlier in the game into double coverage or the first two, or, you know, only a handful of head scratching passes he's had, I think this year, where mostly he's done a great job of just getting it to the weapons that needs to go to it, even in the run game and the RPO game, making sure that the ball is getting where it needs to go.
We talked about before the season, that's really all Ohio state needed at quarterback with all the weapons that are around him and with the step the offensive line has taken. You don't need to be that superstar who goes Caleb Williams mode and does it all yourself in the fourth quarter. I think that yes, you're going to have to make those throws to your point.
You're going to have to make, keep making the good, accurate throws and decisions when these games are tight down the stretch, but Will's experience. I've been impressed with Will. He's played better than I think I thought he would.
Not that I thought he'd play bad, but he's been, I think a little bit better than even I expected. And for me, I think I would, I would give Will a pretty positive grade at the start of this season. Still things to work on the ball accuracy, like we said, but this offense is doing so much to stretch defenses horizontally.
Like I've, like I said before, I don't think the vertical threat is as needed, though it does still need to be at least a threat in the offense.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah. I'd probably give Will a B plus. I think I'd agree with that.
I wouldn't go A because of the fact that we haven't seen a lot of that deep downfield passing yet. And like you said, he doesn't need to do it a lot. He doesn't need to do it as much as CJ Stroud did two years ago.
It's just a matter of, there is going to be a time at some point this year where they're going to really need him to make a big bro in that kind of situation. From what he's shown, I think he can do it. I just don't know he can do it yet.
So I think, you know, that's, that to me is still the biggest question. It's not necessarily a negative reflection on Will or how he's played so far. It's just, I don't have the same confidence that I would have if CJ Stroud was going out there to make that throw a couple of years ago.
And that's a really high bar to reach. But again, it's just, again, we talk about nitpicking. We talk about expectations at Ohio state.
The standard is so high. I think Will Howard has shown he's a really good college quarterback. It's just a matter of, can he be that elite college quarterback in the games where they need him to be a late?
That is something we will learn more about over the next three to three and a half months. But as we sit here right now, Andy, you talk about those three major goals. We both predicted before of a year that Ohio state would beat Michigan, would win the big 10, would win the national championship as we sit here right now.
Are you more confident, less confident, or just as confident that Ohio state will achieve those goals more?
[Andy Anders]
And it's because of the offensive line talked about it already. But I think this left side is actually like, not just like good enough, but really good. Like Donovan Jackson and Josh Simmons have been awesome.
And Seth McLaughlin too, like center to left tackle. I think this is maybe a top 10 line in the country center to left tackle. Still have those questions at right guard, right tackle.
But if you told me coming into this year that you were going to get, I think all those guys have played at the level of a day two draft picker kind of in that area. If you had told me that coming into the year that you were going to get that sort of production and play out of those three positions and especially Seth McLaughlin has been better than like, I didn't expect, I expected him to be good. I expected him to be an upgrade over what they had at center last year in Carson Hinsman in experience.
But he has been an awesome blocker in both the run and pass game. And he, his leadership is so evident when you're out there watching him work in tandem with Donovan Jackson. And whether it's Tager Shibola or Austin Searvelt at right guard, or when Austin played left guard at the start of the year, his leadership is so clear on the interior and him and will, I think, have a really good chemistry in terms of setting protections, snap counts, the checks you have to make at the line of scrimmage between a center and a quarterback.
Like Ryan Day said, he's like a pro on the field. That and through left tackle has been a strength for Ohio state. And that's why my confidence in this team is higher that they can achieve those three things.
And Will Howard has been what he's needed to be so far, again, with some things to work on like you mentioned.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah, I'll go just as confident. I mean, I was already confident because I already picked up the women's national championship. So I'll go, I'll go just as confident.
I don't know that I would necessarily say that I'm more confident, but to your point, I do think the offensive line has exceeded my expectations so far, though. Again, I want to see how they play against better competition. I think Will Howard has exceeded my expectations so far, but again, I want to see him play against tougher competition.
You know, I think the defense, I think the bar was so high for what they could be that it would be hard for them to have exceeded expectations so far. But again, even with some concerns at linebacker, some of the things we're nitpicking, they're still top 10 in all the major categories on defense. I still firmly believe this is a championship caliber defense.
We thought already before the season, Ohio State could have the best running back tandem and the best receiving core of the country. I believe that to be the case based on what we've seen the first month of a season. And so the big questions were really going to be quarterback, the offensive line.
I do think based on what we've seen so far, there's reason to be optimistic. Ohio State has what it needs at those two positions. So I won't, I'm not going to say more confident just because I was already confident, but I am still confident.
I still believe this is a national championship caliber team. I would probably say I'm more confident they'll beat Michigan. Not that I thought Michigan's quarterback and offensive line were going to be good, but I think they have looked bad enough to where I feel like, okay, like Michigan does not have much of a passing game.
I think it's going to be hard for Michigan to beat Ohio state without that would probably lean a little more on, on more confident Ohio state winning the big 10 too, as because Oregon has not looked as good as I thought they would, though. I still think that game next week is going to be a really tough game for Ohio state, and we will talk all about that on next week's episode, we talk about teams don't have great passing offenses. Let's circle back to Iowa now, because the one thing that has not changed for Iowa from last year is it's passing offense is still bad.
It ranks 124th in the FBS right now. It's a little bit of a revenge game for the Buckeyes this week because Cade McNamara led Michigan to a win over Ohio state in 2021. And so Cade McNamara has shown he can win against Ohio state.
However, when you look at what he's done this year, he's averaged just 112.3 yards in free games against FBS opponents this year, we still haven't really seen anybody emerge as a major weapon at wide receiver for Iowa. And so I think Iowa's passing offense against Ohio state secondary, that should be a huge advantage in Ohio state's favor. And I would be very surprised if Iowa has much success at all moving the ball through the air, however, this is going to be a real test for Ohio state's run defense because Iowa currently ranks 10th in the country with 250.25 rushing yards per game, it ranks 12th in the country with 5.96 yards per carry, Caleb Johnson is currently the nation's second leading rusher with 685 yards and nine touchdowns on 82 carries. And so we have seen particularly early in games for the last couple of weeks, Ohio state start out a little slow in terms of its run defense this week.
I think the good news is for Ohio state is you, you can't afford to focus your defensive game plan on stopping the run because you don't have a whole lot to be worried about in terms of a passing game, but nevertheless, this is going to be a big test of Ohio state's run defense and whether Ohio state can make some strides in that area, not that it's bad, but since we still think that there's still room for Ohio state to grow in that area, I think this will certainly be the biggest challenge Ohio state has faced so far this year in terms of that defensive front going against a really good running back and a really powerful offensive line.
[Andy Anders]
Until they play Michigan, I think this is the best interior defense they'll face. And maybe even including Michigan on their schedule, this might be the best interior defense they've faced. Jay Higgins is one of, if not the best linebacker in the country.
171 tackles last year. Insane. 34 thus far this year, a little more toned down, but still a guy that you've got to watch out for and he forces turnovers to the interior defensive tackle tandem are two big 300, one's 300, one's 315.
Um, so you got some beef in there with Yaya Black and Aaron Graves, which those two have been disruptive, um, combined for, I believe it's either five or six tackles for loss, they, they, they've, they've been in imposing backfields. And so, especially at right guard, I think you're going to get a good test of the strides Ohio state's made. And can you run the ball against a front like this?
Now, something Chip Kelly said on Tuesday that I really liked is that in the past, Ryan has talked a lot about balance on offense and even like in his first few years, he would say stuff like, you know, you want to be at 250 rush, 250 pass a game chip seems much more oriented on going to take what the defense gives us. If, if, if it's 400 passing and a hundred rushing, who cares? And he kind of had a similar sentiment to that when we talked to him on Tuesday, I think that the secondary is clearly the weakness that in Iowa's defense.
You want to attack, not that you don't want to establish the running game. You can't be predictable and it's going to be a test of that, but I do think Ohio state's going to be a little more passive lean leaning against Iowa because that's where the weakness is in this defense. Maybe Iowa comes out with a light box expecting that, and then you run the ball, but it will be a test of the strides made up front.
Can you move the ball against a team with this talented of defensive interior? And to your point, the Iowa rush offense, it's one dimensional. Of course, that's a massive improvement from last year.
The last three years held the last seven years when they had no dimension on offense. Um, Brian Ferentz's entire seven year tenure going back through the Brian Ferentz tenure and seeing seven straight years. They were in the bottom third of college football, all seven years, bottom third of college football for offensive yards per game.
Last three years, they were one of the worst teams in both scoring and total yardage. And it all culminated in 2023 when they were next to last in points per game and dead last in yards per game. Obviously Brian Ferentz was fired mid season, but.
Tim Lester has come in and at least with Caleb Johnson, gotten them back to a place where they can run the football. But for Iowa, this is a litmus test for them too. And where are you at against the class of the conference?
They have faced two power five opponents already or power for my bad, uh, Minnesota, who you beat in the Floyd or Rosedale game 31, 14. And then they lost the Cy Hawk trophy to Iowa state 20 to 19. Uh, Iowa state, by the way, through for 270 yards in that game.
And I don't think they're passing offenses nearly as good as Ohio state. So that's, that's another note, but this is a litmus test for Iowa and how real their offensive strides in their running game have been facing better defenses than they faced and a better team overall, more complete team than they faced. So I think it's always interesting to think about it from the opponent perspective too, and taking this offense out of the doldrums to a place where you're a legitimate threat on the ground is going to test.
Again, we talked about the linebackers, Tyleek Williams sounds like he is actually going to be back this week after being available, but not playing. And he would have played if it were an emergency that that thing we got with Donovan Jackson two weeks ago too. So Tyleek Williams being back will be big.
Assuming he's back and it'll be a test for that entire defensive front. And can you stop a run game that's so potent and it all matches up with what Michigan is going to threaten on offense at the end of the season. Michigan has had practically no passing threat this first month of the season.
They've struggled to win some, obviously lost to Texas, but struggled to win some games, barely beat Minnesota this week. But it's a similar thing to Iowa of right now they're one dimensional on offense, but they can run the ball really well. And so like just kind of looking way ahead, it is a good measuring stick for where you are on defense against a lot of what Michigan is going to try to do.
[Dan Hope]
Yeah. You look at Iowa so far in every game this season, they've run for more than 200 yards and they've held their opponent under 100 yards. And so, uh, there's no question what Iowa's goal is going to be in this game, because it's the same as it is in every game, it's going to be control the ground game.
If, if Ohio state can manage to control the ground game in this game, Ohio state should dominate this game. If it, what makes this game dangerous for Ohio state is if Ohio state can't run the ball effectively and if it struggles to stop a run, because Ohio state's going to have a huge advantage in, in the passing game, you know, particularly in terms of defense going against Iowa's passing offense, but to your point, I think there is a possible weakness here in this Iowa defense in terms of being able to pass the ball on them. Cause they, they have not been dominant in terms of past defense. They've allowed over 200 passing yards in each of their last three games to passing touchdowns and all of those games as well.
And so again, we talked about earlier full Howard, this is a game where I'd really like to see will Howard be able to hit a couple of deep shots. Cause I think if he can do that, you open up that defense, you open things up for a run game. I think it can be a very good day, a dominant game for Ohio state.
I think there's going to be situations in this game where I don't think any, I don't think anything's going to come easy for a run game. I think it could still end up being a good day for a run game at the end of the day, if Ohio state sticks with it. But I do think this is a game where the key from, you know, making this a comfortable win for Ohio state is, is going to be clicking in the passing game is going to be able to hit a couple of those big shots through the air and then dominating as a pass defense the way you should be able to while also limiting Iowa in the run game.
And so, you know, I think if all of those things can come together, uh, Ohio state should be able to win this game pretty comfortably. If you allow Iowa to control of a run game, that's where things could get dicey here, but when, when I look at the betting line for this game, uh, I've seen it, it vary quite a bit. I've seen the line as low as 18 points.
I've seen it as high as 24 points as of Tuesday afternoon, most books had it around 19 and a half or 20 points, but I am pretty confident Ohio state is going to cover in this game. I mean, even just seeing just the relaxed vibe of the coaches this week makes me they're feeling pretty good going into this game, even if that's not, uh, what they want to say by any means go against a team that should be the best opponent they faced this year, at least in terms of what they can do running the ball and what they can do defensively. But I think back to that game two years ago, when Ohio state played Iowa and Iowa had one of the best defenses in the country that year too, and Ohio state went out and scored 54 points, won the game 54 to 10.
So I'm not going to go quite that big. I'm just going to run it back from last week. I'm going to say 38 to seven, like that just makes sense to me.
I think this is a better defense than Michigan state has, but I also think they are not going to have as many long drives early in the game as Michigan state did, which will give Ohio state more favorable field positions on offense to allow them to put together some drives. Uh, maybe Ohio state, uh, you know, gets a couple of takeaways again on defense, you know, particularly in the form of interceptions, if it can do that, maybe turn one of those into a defensive touchdown or at least, uh, give the offense some short fields. I think the Buckeyes will have a chance, uh, to pull, pull away and win this game in decisive fashion.
And so, uh, you know, maybe the 38 is slightly optimistic against the defensive defense of this caliber, but 38, seven feels right to me. What about you?
[Andy Anders]
I have 31, 10. Um, so a little more on both ends, just cause I think I was going to be able to control the clock and portions of this game, uh, and shorten it with the running game, I think Ohio state has actually, they've been fantastic against the run really this first month of the season. And, uh, we're, we're really good against Michigan state on the ground, but this is a different challenge.
And I think that the linebacker play isn't going to be where it's gotta be yet. They might take steps, but I still think I was going to find ways to attack the linebacker, not named Cody Simon. That's on the field.
Um, mostly sunny styles, obviously, but if you're running four, three packages, just, just going away from Cody and attacking the less experienced. Part of that linebacker core is going to give you some success with Caleb Johnson and being able to give him some space to operate, be really curious to see how Tyleek Williams does in this game and returning if he's back. But, um, I think Caleb Johnson is good for one touchdown and enough to generate a field goal.
However, the offense does enough hits explosive play here or there. That's not that close. And a 31, 10, I think feels about right.
I've been. Overestimating the scoring in a number of these weeks. Thus far, I, um, overshot it a little last week when I had Ohio state racking up 48 and they came 10 points short of that, obviously.
So I think a little more reasonable, I think games are shorter in these days with, you know, clock running after first downs that has the last two seasons. For me, 31, 10 feels about right. And I think Ohio state's due for a game where it doesn't necessarily look clean throughout.
Like they've had slow starts, but. The middle of these games they've taken over and gotten those, you know, starters out of the game by the end, you know, haven't really, like even against Michigan state, you got, you know, most of the fourth quarter was backups. Um, I think this is a game that maybe has a little clunkiness in the middle instead of at the beginning.
Um, but again, Ohio state ultimately proves the better team and does enough on offense, even against a great defense.
[Dan Hope]
We've talked about it all year, that ramp up of the season. We certainly felt that in the first month of a year. I think we definitely expect to see that in the second month of the year, especially these next two weeks as Ohio state hosts Iowa this Saturday before it's highly anticipated road game at Oregon next week.
And so we will be back with you next week to preview that big game against the ducks and talk about everything we learned from watching the Buckeyes against the Hawkeyes, Ohio state versus Iowa, 3 30 PM Saturday on CBS. Andy and I will both be there along with the rest of 11 warriors crew at Ohio stadium to bring you full coverage of that game, lots of coverage throughout the week as well on 11 warriors.com and 11 warriors, YouTube channel. So keep up with everything we're doing over there and we'll catch you again next week on real pod Wednesdays.